Alma Project: Bathroom Remodel

By Kate Riley • September 10, 2012

Hello everyone, I’m excited to announce we’ve completed another space remodel as part of our Alma Project! I hinted a few months ago that we’ve adopted a second house in partnership with our local COTS (Committee on the Shelterless) and a team of volunteers has been working on this home to prepare it for the families that will be moving in shortly.

This home serves the purpose of helping families that are in immediate danger of separation because the parents don’t have a place to live, often they’re sleeping in cars. This house helps keep homeless families intact so that CPS does not separate the children from the parents. It’s a place for families to reside temporarily while our local COTS helps them obtain more permanent housing. We couldn’t be prouder of this hall bathroom remodel!

This could not have happened without the support of some very generous sponsors and a team of volunteers. Just like with the kitchen remodel earlier this year, Home Depot was a very generous donor, supplying us with the new vanity, toilet and faucet, and we are extremely grateful for their support! Glidden provided the paint, and with some money raised from our Alma Project fund, we were able to add the extras.

When we started, this shared community bathroom was a complete disaster, and in desperate need of upgrades. Here’s a peek at the space two months ago before the remodel began. The tub and flooring were dingy, discolored, and in very sad shape. The vanity and toilet were really bad too, so we removed everything in the space except the tub and started over.

Here’s how it looks two months later!

Warren works for COTS and is the manager of this house – he did the installation of the new flooring and vanity, plus all the plumbing. This vanity is from Home Depot and came with the solid surface top and mirror too, at $299 it was a great deal!

For those interested, this vanity (source below) has to be flush to the wall so you have to trim your baseboard, also your plumbing has to be centered or you’ll have to cut into the bottom drawer and could lose some utility. The solid surface top has a slightly orangish hue to it which doesn’t come across so much in pictures, but for the price, I’m totally impressed with it!

Victor, our wonderful painter, painted the walls with ‘Oyster Bay’ by Glidden – it’s a pale shade of gray with a slight hint of green to it – I love this color so much I recently repainted our study in the same shade. The inspirational print I found on Etsy (source below) and framed for the wall. The modern floral shower curtain sets the color palette for the space, picking up the brown tones and soothing blues.

Instead of a towel bar, I thought towel hooks were much better for a shared community bathroom.

We made this rack out of a piece of birch wood that I primed and painted white. Once the painted wood piece was screwed into the studs, we added the series of oil rubbed bronze hooks for contrast and utility – both the birch wood and hooks were purchased from Home Depot.

One project that saved us a ton of money was the epoxy treatment on the tub. Our painter Victor recommended an epoxy he’s used over the years, so we trusted his opinion and we’re so glad we did.

The shower doors were removed and all the debris and leftover caulking sanded off. Victor applied the epoxy treatment to the tub and we were amazed how well it turned out!

The kitchen at this emergency shelter home is nearing completion, I’ll have that space to show you in a few short weeks and we have enough in our budget to cover it, but we need more help in the great room. I need a desk for the case worker, a rug, some dining tables and storage units, and also five sheet sets for beds in five bedrooms, will you help? We appreciate any amount, donate by clicking on this button (also in the sidebar).

Thanks so much to all the donors, volunteers, and support of readers, we couldn’t have done this without you!

We have a Home Depot and a Lowes right smack next to each other… I think my go to will be Home Depot from now on (I usually go to them anyways). I like supporting companies that support communities. <3

I have a lot of respect and admiration for you Kate. It’s wonderful that you give so much of your time and talent to others less fortunate and such a worth cause the Alma Project is. The bathroom turned out beautifully. Oyster Bay is a color. It reminds me a little bit of Silver Sage.

You are a true inspiration! You’re a busy blogger, wife and mother and you STILL manage to selflessly give back to your community. Bravo! The bathroom looks wonderful. All the personal touches and serene colours will, no doubt, bring a little bit of serenity to those families in transition.

I notice in the before picture all the bottles scattered about – on top of the door frame and in the corner on the tub surround. I was wondering if you came up with a clever way to store all the “stuff” that goes in the shower (shampoos and body wash, etc.). I really hate those things you can buy that hang from the shower head and wondered if you guys had done something else.

Hi Jenoside, great question! The rules of this house do not allow for storage of shampoo/conditioner/soap inside the bathroom, tenants have to keep them in a room, so we’re going to get caddies for them. In an ordinary family bathroom, I’d look into a hanging organizer for inside the shower – also there is a little room on the edges of the tub too.
Kate

Oh, Kate, this looks absolutely amazing. It’s beautiful. This space looks worthy of being in anyone’s home–what a wonderful thing for the families who have been without shelter to get to use this lovely space! Y’all did such a good job, and the cost breakdown is really inspiring. Well done!!

What a beautiful transformation! One question, I went to get the glidden oyster bay paint swatch and it wasn’t there? I googled oyster bay and sherwin Williams keeps popping up? Do you have the paint number for glidden?

This transformation is just wonderful and what a terrific project. This is for such a wonderfully brilliant purpose…it brings a whole new meaning to renovation. Ya’ll did an amazing job. Congratulations and thank you so much for your work in this area.

Love it! I hope there will be a 3rd house! What a wonderful way to share your talent and allow so many people to contribute. I have also been putting off the tub epoxy; guess I know what my next project is ;) Beautiful work Kate!

Hi Kate. Sorry to ask again but could you link me to the towels from bed bath and beyond – I’m having a hard time finding the ‘ Donna Karan Home ‘ brand in that color. I would love to order them. Such a pretty color! You have a beautiful eye!

Wow! This turned out absolutely gorgeous! Those colors look like something I would have chose and the bathroom looks so bright and upscale! The tub make over is a huge miracle surprise I think! Impressive for sure! I hope many families will be blessed by this beautiful space!

What a difference, I can barely believe my eyes! Just as I was with the kitchen remodel at the other home, I am seriously floored. You always think of every detail and make each room feel so finished and special. Kudos for all you do! And hugs for your kind heart!

i’m here because of your kitchen make over (love your white kitchen). i have to say…no way! i can’t believe the transformation you gave your bathroom! this gives me such an inspiration for our dated small bathroom! thanks for this post! i’m your new fan!!!

Hello, I'm Kate! I'm a renovator, decorator, and do-it-yourselfer who writes about great interior design and home improvement. Welcome to the place where I share my advice and adventures in decorating and DIY projects! Learn more.